Gun Barrels

The earliest guns were breech loaders, made from bar iron banded and hammer welded into a tube. A separate breech chamber held the powder charge. Gun founding became an art with the introduction of one-piece sand cast tube.

The lower tier of 17th-century English ships of the line were usually equipped with demi-cannon, guns that fired a 32-pound (15 kg) solid shot, and could weigh up to 3,400 pounds (1,500 kg).[59] Demi-cannon were capable of firing these heavy metal balls with such force, that they could penetrate more than a meter of solid oak, from a distance of 90 m (300 ft), and could demast even the largest ships at close range.

The earliest guns were breech loaders, made from bar iron banded and hammer welded into a tube. A separate breech chamber held the powder charge. Gun founding became an art with the introduction of one-piece sand cast tube.

The lower tier of 17th-century English ships of the line were usually equipped with demi-cannon, guns that fired a 32-pound (15 kg) solid shot, and could weigh up to 3,400 pounds (1,500 kg).[59] Demi-cannon were capable of firing these heavy metal balls with such force, that they could penetrate more than a meter of solid oak, from a distance of 90 m (300 ft), and could demast even the largest ships at close range.

The earliest guns were breech loaders, made from bar iron banded and hammer welded into a tube. A separate breech chamber held the powder charge. Gun founding became an art with the introduction of one-piece sand cast tube.

The lower tier of 17th-century English ships of the line were usually equipped with demi-cannon, guns that fired a 32-pound (15 kg) solid shot, and could weigh up to 3,400 pounds (1,500 kg).[59] Demi-cannon were capable of firing these heavy metal balls with such force, that they could penetrate more than a meter of solid oak, from a distance of 90 m (300 ft), and could demast even the largest ships at close range.

The earliest guns were breech loaders, made from bar iron banded and hammer welded into a tube. A separate breech chamber held the powder charge. Gun founding became an art with the introduction of one-piece sand cast tube.

The lower tier of 17th-century English ships of the line were usually equipped with demi-cannon, guns that fired a 32-pound (15 kg) solid shot, and could weigh up to 3,400 pounds (1,500 kg).[59] Demi-cannon were capable of firing these heavy metal balls with such force, that they could penetrate more than a meter of solid oak, from a distance of 90 m (300 ft), and could demast even the largest ships at close range.

The earliest guns were breech loaders, made from bar iron banded and hammer welded into a tube. A separate breech chamber held the powder charge. Gun founding became an art with the introduction of one-piece sand cast tube.

The lower tier of 17th-century English ships of the line were usually equipped with demi-cannon, guns that fired a 32-pound (15 kg) solid shot, and could weigh up to 3,400 pounds (1,500 kg).[59] Demi-cannon were capable of firing these heavy metal balls with such force, that they could penetrate more than a meter of solid oak, from a distance of 90 m (300 ft), and could demast even the largest ships at close range.

The carronade is a short smooth bore, cast iron cannon. It was used from the 1770s to the 1850s. Its main function was to serve as a powerful, short-range anti-ship and anti-crew weapon. While considered very successful early on, carronades eventually disappeared as rifled naval artillery changed the shape of the shell and led to fewer and fewer close-range engagements.

Swivel guns were used principally aboard sailing ships, serving as short-range anti-personnel ordnance. They were not ship-sinking weapons, due to their small caliber and short range, but could do considerable damage to anyone caught in their line of fire. They were especially useful against deck-to-deck boarders, against approaching longboats bearing boarding parties, and against deck gun crews when ships were hull-to-hull.

Due to their relatively small size, swivel guns were highly portable and could be moved around the deck of a ship quite easily (and certainly much more easily than other types of cannon). They could be mounted on vertical timbers (pillars) which were either part of the ship's structure or were firmly bolted to that structure along either side, which provided the gunner with a reasonably steady platform from which to fire. These small guns with long handles were fitted with a fulcrum and pin and inserted into a hole in the rail. Their portability enabled them to be installed wherever they were most needed; whereas larger cannon were useless if they were on the wrong side of the ship, swivel guns could be carried across the deck to face the enemy.